It is known in vehicle bodies to provide a mechanism for moving a vehicle body closure between the open and closed positions.
One such mechanism is shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 143,779 filed Jan. 14, 1988 and assigned to the assignee of this invention. Such a vehicle closure operating mechanism includes a motor driven cable drum which winds and unwinds a cable. The end of the cable is attached to the vehicle body closure so that winding of the cable on the drum will forcibly pivot the closure to the closed position.
It would be desirable to provide a releasable connection between the cable and the closure so that continued winding of the cable after the closure encounters an obstruction would permit the cable to release from the closure, thereby preventing injury to the closure or the closure operating mechanism.
It would also be desirable to provide a releasable connection device which would release the cable from the closure in the event that the closure is forcibly moved to the open position by a manually applied effort instead of by unwinding the cable.
Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide an energy absorbing connection device between the cable and the closure so that the encounter of a force condition of magnitude less than that effecting complete release would be absorbed by the connecting device.